Bobby Sheehan

Robert Richard Sheehan was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, to Thomas Sheehan and Sybil MacMurray Sheehan. Hockey references give his date of birth as 11 January 1949, while his family's obituary gives his age at death as 78. He grew up in Weymouth, where his love of hockey began on local rinks and frozen ponds.

In 1960 he played in the inaugural Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the junior Boston Bruins. He later moved to Canada to play junior hockey and, although small by hockey standards, led his league with 64 goals in his rookie year. He was the MJrHL scoring champion in 1966 to 1967, and he remained immensely proud of his Halifax junior team, which was inducted into the Maritime Sport Hall of Fame in 2024. He then played for the St. Catharines Black Hawks of the Ontario Hockey Association.

The Montreal Canadiens selected Sheehan in the third round, 32nd overall, of the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft. He played 45 regular season games over two seasons in Montreal's organisation and was part of the Canadiens team that won the Stanley Cup in 1971.

He joined the California Golden Seals for 1971 to 1972 and became one of their top forwards, scoring 20 goals and 46 points in 78 games. In 1972 he moved to the New York Raiders of the World Hockey Association, who had obtained his rights from the New England Whalers, and had the best season of his career with 35 goals and 88 points. He was selected for the WHA All-Star Game in 1973 and 1974 and later played for the Edmonton Oilers of the WHA.

Sheehan returned to the NHL with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1975 to 1976 and the Detroit Red Wings in 1976 to 1977, then played a final WHA season with the Indianapolis Racers. After the whole 1978 to 1979 regular season with the New Haven Nighthawks, when he was named to the AHL Second All-Star Team, the New York Rangers called him up for the playoffs to centre Pat Hickey and Ron Duguay. He scored four goals and three assists in 15 games as the Rangers reached the 1979 Stanley Cup Final, losing to Montreal in five games.

He later played for the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Kings, as well as the Binghamton Whalers and Fort Worth Texans, and represented the United States at the 1981 World Championship, scoring one goal and one assist in eight games. He retired in 1983 with 48 goals and 63 assists for 111 points in 310 NHL games.

After hockey, Sheehan returned to Weymouth and spent countless hours teaching youth hockey to local children. He worked for more than 30 years for the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission as a charitable gaming field representative, travelling across the state to bingo games, and had recently retired.

He was known to friends as Bobby and to some as "cat" or "shecat", and was remembered for his quick wit and sense of humour. Every holiday season he stopped by the Pine Street Inn, the Boston homeless charity, with a donation, and he made regular trips back to Canada to visit family and friends. He had five children: Bobby Jr., Hope, Jill, Kayla and Chris, and two grandchildren. His companion was Carol Ridlon of Hingham.

Bobby Sheehan died peacefully on 7 November 2026 in Hingham, Massachusetts, surrounded by his family. His family's obituary gives his age as 78; hockey references, which give his birth date as 11 January 1949, put it at 77. The NHL Alumni Association announced his death on 9 November 2026. No cause of death has been made public.

He was survived by his five children, his grandchildren Jane and Jack, his brother David Sheehan, his sister Lynn Wagner and his companion Carol Ridlon. He was predeceased by his brothers Thomas and Kevin. A Funeral Mass was arranged for 12 November 2026 at Immaculate Conception Church in East Weymouth, with burial at St. Francis Xavier Cemetery in Weymouth, under the care of the C. C. Shepherd Funeral Home.

Sheehan was among the few American born players in the NHL at the start of the 1970s and is remembered as an early trailblazer for American hockey, a Stanley Cup winner and a fan favourite in the WHA. His 1979 playoff run with the Rangers remains a highlight for New York fans, and in Weymouth he passed on his speed, skill and love for the game to a generation of young skaters.